We were running out of time before the director and camera guys even finished setting up.

I was the limiting factor in this equation.

Shooting course videos is very taxing on the brain (at least, it’s taxing on my brain).

After a few hours of shooting, I start “bonking.”

Bonking is a production term used for people who start messing up their lines and making other mistakes because they are mentally tired.

When someone starts bonking, it’s time for a break.

But we didn’t have time for breaks.

So I jumped in and started filming the course without taking any breaks.

After the fourteenth video, I thought I was going to pass out.

My mental energy was completely depleted.

Contrary to popular belief, the halfway point is not the breakthrough point when it comes to doing a difficult task.

It’s not where things get easier.

Instead, it’s where things are the hardest.

The halfway point is the hardest because it’s the point at which you have just as much in front of you as you just finished behind you.

The halfway point is the breaking point.

Luckily, I knew the halfway point was going to be hard so instead of giving in, we kept powering through the shoot.

Then, after we shot the twenty-fourth video, something surprising happened…

I suddenly realized we were well passed the twentieth video and were nearly done.

A bolt of energy shot through my body and mind.

We finished the last 5 videos faster than we finished the first 5 videos.

How To Have 240X More Mental Energy

In the 1950s, a Harvard graduate and Johns Hopkins scientist did a series of experiments that tested how long rats could swim in high-sided buckets of circulating water before giving up.

The scientist found that under normal conditions, a rat could swim for an average of 15 minutes before quitting.

But if he took the rats out of the buckets and let them rest briefly at the 15 minute mark, and then put them back into the same buckets, the rats could swim an average of — wait for it — 60 hours.

Yep, 60 hours — 240 times longer.

Of course, this seems to make no sense.

How could these rats swim so much longer during a second session, especially just after swimming as long as they possibly could during the first session?

The scientist concluded that the rats were given hope.

They had a vision of what being saved looked like and they kept swimming for it.

A better conclusion is that the rats were given energy through hope, or through vision.

A rat — with a brain the size of a pea — can push through hopelessness and extend their perseverance by 240 times.

Even after they are already exhausted.

Vision provided the rats with additional resources and willpower to persevere.

Psychological Science journal published a study in agreement stating that willpower — the ability to exercise self-control — is not a finite resource, but rather a reflection of a person’s belief about their ability to keep going.

When you feel your energy levels drop, surrounding yourself with high achievers, positive motivators, and like-minded mentors will give you the boost you need to finish strong.

Their energy and positive influence will trigger your “light at end of tunnel” energy.

3. Stop trying to fight your own biology.

Willpower is your ability to control your own behavior and it relies exclusively on mental energy.

When you’re distracted, your willpower suffers.

When you’re tired, your willpower suffers.

Whenever you make a decision, your willpower suffers.

Think of willpower as a kind of instinctual override, a way to interrupt your brain’s automatic processing in order to do something else.

If you’re hungry and come upon a table of free doughnuts, the primitive part of your brain will process the event and say, “EAT!” But the more advanced decision-making part of your brain will tell you to keep walking and not take the bait.

For the rest of the day, your mental energy levels are medium-to-low at best.

The good news is if you get enough sleep, your assets get replenished 100%.

Studies in Sleep Medicine show that the right amount of REM sleep (4-6 cycles) completely restores your mental energy each day.

This means you need to start tracking your energy levels and planning your “light at end of tunnel” moments.

It also means that you can extend your “light at end of tunnel” moments by working on key projects earlier in the day and by getting enough REM sleep.

Remember, energy is your most valuable asset.

This asset depreciates rapidly every day but can be boosted by vision, commitment, and by managing your own biology.

Your internal motivation and energy levels have nothing to do with your circumstances and everything to do with your focus. The energy in the beginning of a new vision is easily acquired but can be depleted as setbacks, failures, and obstacles appear. Without a strong vision and matching mindset, it’s easy to burn out and want to quit. Having a defined plan for your future will help you to harness the last burst of energy you need to accomplish your goals.

To learn more about how to avoid mental fatigue, improve motivation and willpower, and to get instant access to exclusive training videos, case studies, insider documents, and my private online network, get on the Escape Plan wait list.